Brush makeup applicators are used to apply makeup to a person's skin, such as the person's face. The makeup may be comprised of, for example, a foundation that is applied to bare skin, shading that is applied to the foundation, or other forms of makeup, such as, for example, colored or tinted makeup that is used in entertainment. The makeup may be a mixture of component makeups, such as mixture or cocktail of a moisturizer and a foundation. The makeup may be in any suitable form, such as powder, liquid, emulsified, etc. The makeup is typically held in a jar or other open top dispenser, in a squeeze bottle with a nozzle, or although any suitable container can be employed.
Before the makeup is applied to the face, the brush makeup applicator is loaded with the makeup. The brush makeup applicator may be loaded with the makeup by, for example, dipping a brush at an end of the brush makeup applicator into the makeup a few times. Alternatively, the makeup may be applied to the brush by using the squeeze bottle. For example, the brush at the end of the brush makeup applicator may be held upright while the user squeezes makeup onto the brush. After the brush makeup applicator is loaded, the makeup may rest on the end of or between bristles in the brush. The user may then press the loaded brush makeup applicator to the skin to apply the makeup.
The brush makeup applicator is typically pressed to the skin in a dabbing and/or wiping stroke. The dabbing strokes can apply the makeup to a particular spot on the skin while the wiping strokes can distribute the makeup to achieve a desired gradient effect, such as shading with tinted makeup. The dabbing strokes are usually performed where it is desirable to have a center or thicker layer of the distributed makeup. For example, blush may be dabbed to the skin at the center of the cheekbones. By wiping the blush in a circular or radial pattern away from the location of the dabbed makeup, a gradient effect may be achieved. An application of the makeup is defined as a series of dabbing and wiping strokes after the brush is loaded.
However, as can be appreciated, the resulting gradient effect can depend significantly on the proper amount of makeup being applied in a given application of the makeup. Sometimes the makeup must be applied multiple times to achieve the desired amount of makeup, which can adversely affect the resulting gradient effect. For example, the blush may be undesirably even over the entire cheekbone due to the multiple dabbing and wiping strokes.
The repetitious application of the makeup can be avoided by loading the brush makeup applicator with a precise and sufficient amount of makeup such that a single application of the makeup can achieve the desired effects. However, it may be difficult to precisely determine the amount of makeup that is retained between the bristles in the brush, or to even retain a sufficient amount of makeup for a given application. In addition, the gradient effect, as well as other desirable effects, can be better controlled by modulating the amount of makeup that is applied during the dabbing or wiping strokes.